Bloomberg: Rare earths will be the main topic of US-China trade talks in London
The United States and China are set to resume trade talks in London on Monday, June 9, to ease tensions over supplies of rare earth metals and advanced technologies, Bloomberg reports.
The talks are planned following a phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.
Both sides accuse each other of violating a previous agreement reached in Geneva to temporarily reduce tariffs that had reached more than 100%.
After reaching an agreement with China to resume exports of critical minerals, Trump said he expected the meeting in London to go "very well."
China, for its part, confirmed that it had approved some applications for rare earth exports, but did not specify which countries or sectors this applies to.
"We want the rare earth metals, the magnets that are critical for cell phones and everything else, to come in the same way they did before the beginning of April, and we don't want any technical details to slow that down," said Trump adviser Kevin Gasset.
The US delegation to the talks in London will include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The Chinese side will be led by Vice Premier He Lifen.
The additional presence of Lutnik – responsible for restrictions on the sale of advanced technologies – could indicate Trump’s willingness to reconsider some of the restrictions that are holding back China’s economic ambitions.
- On June 2, China accused the US of "serious violation" of the trade truce and promised to take decisive measures to protect its interests.
- On June 5, Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since returning to the White House: the politicians discussed "some of the intricacies" of the recently concluded trade agreement and agreed on delegation negotiations.
